The "I'm Not a Mom so I made dinner" Mother's Day Meal

   To all the mothers in the world that take care of their children, set good examples, play with them, teach them and Cherish them in hard times and good times- Happy Mother's Day! I don't think just one day does your job justice. I am not a mom but I was lucky to have one of the best moms in the world. Raising 5 girls hasn't been easy and we continue to provide good and bad times for her. I can't imagine having her job but I am thankful for who she is and how she raised us.
    Brandon is especially thankful for my mom because she taught me how to cook. Tonight we made a meal using herbs and several items from our garden. It was delicious and so rewarding eating food that we grew on our own. I don't have any kids and I am very thankful for that at this time. So tonight I made an "I am not a Mom" Mother's day meal. Who knows how many more Mother's Days I will be able to relax, garden and play in the kitchen in peace and quiet.


Garden Herbed Chicken with Arugula and Bacon
Ingredients:


4 Chicken Breasts
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp Lemon Balm
1 tsp Oregano ( I used spicy oregano)
1 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp Lavender
6-8 stems of Arugula
4-8 strips Bacon
Salt and Pepper to taste


Process:

1. Place 4 chicken breasts on a greased cookie sheet.
2. Combine all fresh herbs (mine came straight from my garden) and dice into small pieces.

3. Place herbs in a bowl of olive oil and mix until all herbs are coated. Set aside for 10 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Brush herb mixture over each breast and bake for 35-40min.



Herbed Chicken

6. While Chicken is baking, cook bacon in a skillet until it is crispy. Turn stove burner off and remove and let it cool on a paper towel.
7. Place Arugula in the bacon grease and allow it to soften. Remove from pan when it begins to go limp (about 2 minutes). Watch it and don't let it burn.



Arugula Fresh from my neighbors garden- Thanks Stefani!

8. Plate chicken and pile it with Bacon and Arugula.

Baked Old Bay Parsnips

Ingredients:

Parsnips

Olive Oil

Old Bay

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. On a cookie sheet pour a little oil to grease pan.
3. Peel and slice parsnips with a knife for fries. *If you want chip style- slice into thin strips with a peeler*
4. Place on cookie sheet and brush with oil and sprinkle with old bay (or your seasoning of choice)



Old Bay Parsnip Chips

5. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until it is baked to your liking. The center of parsnips are hard so make sure they are cooked all the way through before you serve. *Chips will be finished first, best to bake on two separate trays.*

Parsnip Chips

Farm Fresh Garden Salad

Ingredients:

1 heart Romaine Lettuce (Fresh from my very own garden)

1 Apple

Garden Fresh

1/2 Cup Raisins

1 Cucumber

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Process:

1. Chop Lettuce
2. Slice Apple and Cucumber into bite size pieces.
3. Put veggies on a tray and top with Raisins and Balsamic.

Fancy Non Mother's Day Meal. I even picked myself a bouquet of flowers from my Rose bushes!

 On a side note- When I was walking around collecting food for dinner from the gardens I noticed some new things in my garden:

Blueberries

Strawberry

Tomato Blossom